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The dark green had wandered so close to the stands, Merase couldn't help but make a few little noises over how cute it was. To see a dragon that close! She's seen large ones before, but the ungainly proportions of the newborns made them seem far more adorable. They looked soft, or at least not slimy like she'd thought they might. That might be rather nasty, running to hug your dragon and getting coated in goo...the candidates probably wouldn't care though.

When her father returned she set to regaling him with what he'd missed. She was so involved in her little tale that she nearly missed the arrival and subsequent impression of one of the two browns. He was a handsome fellow too! The other one was hidden behind some of the standers, and though she craned her neck she still couldn't see. "Hmph!" She grumbles with fake anger. "I hate being short!" Of course just as she said this the second brown impressed, breaking free of the crowd with one of the boys in tow.

Down below Velrun watched the same scene unfold with very different emotions. The clutch was well spent and few eggs remained. Despite his cool outer expression inside he was beginning to be quite concerned. Mind, this wasn't his last chance at a dragon: far from it even. But it was disheartening to be left behind. There was only the barest of comforts in that one of the four left had been deemed his favorite from the glances he'd stolen through the peepholes in the wall far above.

It seemed like the sands were abuzz with chatter and whispers. The clutch really had gone on amazingly long: how much longer? How many are left? He heard it asked from the back. Being nearer the front had its advantages, and quietly he glanced back, trying to catch the eye of whomever had whispered. Seeing more than a few necks craning to count the eggs he settled for holding up four fingers at mid-chest height. Hopefully at least one of them would see and quietly pass the word along.

E'rik wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep or what had caused him to return to consciousness, but when he woke he looked instinctively to the sands. There were fewer unhatched goods than before, and Firyal was still there. He couldn't help noticing that she was swaying as she stood there and he wondered how long the Hatching had been going on, and how long he had been asleep. Honestly, he couldn't believe he had fallen asleep. Hatchings were usually too full of excitement and tension for that. But this one had begun late and dragged on and on.

Dara? he asked, reaching for his dragon mentally.

Mm? the brown replied incoherently. Have I missed something?

I don't think so. There were a few more Impressions. Firyal's still standing, E'rik reported, looking at the remaining Candidates. There were still so many of them. There had been fewer when he stood, it seemed.

She looks tired, Dara remarked. Can you help her?

E'rik shook his head, knowing the brown would sense that was what he was doing. He could do nothing for her but watch and hope the Hatching concluded shortly, and ideally with her Impression. At that point she would be allowed to leave the hot sands and get something to drink. She must be parched. E'rik certainly was, and he was in the moderately cooler stands. He propped his head on his fist and his elbow on his knee and settled in to watch the rest of the Hatching.

Raedue gasped as another egg started rocking, and in short order hatched, revealing a beautiful brown. "Oh, he is stunning. I wonder who will be lucky enough to be partnered with him...." He watched as a second egg started rocking as well, making him wonder what would hatch out of it.

At first, she hadn't noticed much of anything at all. She'd been very asleep and very inclined to stay asleep.

The first, second, and third bumps all got incorporated into a very, very strange dream but by the last three, she stirred.

Seeing a very large, and very eye-catching dragon next to her when she woke was not what she had been expecting. Startled, she nearly toppled over Kess in her half-awake state, clamping a hand over her own mouth to muffled the squeak of fright that had come with it.

It took her a few more seconds for her tired brain to register just who it was. With a heavy sigh of relief, she warily put her hand down to stroke the bronze's head with an exclamation of, "I'm up; sorry, I'm up." Why she was apologizing to a dragon, she had no idea.

There was no denying he was a beautiful one, however, and his skin was soft. As for the bronze, he'd woken her just in the nick of time, really. Uuni cast a quick glance over towards the feeding area to see that the bronze's lifepartner had fallen asleep before the movement out of the corner of her eye captured her attention.

"Looks like your clutch-mates are coming to join you," she murmured under her breath. Again, why with the talking? It wasn't as though she was getting any kind of response.

Uuni was mostly right. The only thing Xanthoth did to acknowledge he'd even heard her was retract his attention from her in favor of spending it elsewhere. His latest brother was a welcoming sight. Healthy, so being a clumsy oaf was forgivable. Silly boys. They needed lessons in grace. But he didn't linger on his new sibling for long. The Andalusian began to shake, and for the first time in his brief life, Xanthoth felt uneasy.

He wasn't sure if perhaps he had a fated rivalry with whatever lay inside and that was the cause of his dismay. After all, this entire clutch was not destined to grow up friends, that much they knew already. His eyes whirling, blue for now, a hint of anxiousness in his heart. It didn't feel right, the more he thought about disliking whatever await the crowds.

No... It felt like something else. Was he worried?

Yes, that was it. He was worried. But why?

Uuni was a lovely if he ever saw one, and he didn't want to leave her. But he could come back later, once the new dragon toppled out and assured him everything was alright. He was just worrying too much, right?

Determined to be close, but not too close, Xanthoth trotted on up to the front. He was careful not to bump into any of the ladies on mistake, but any male who got in his way risked being plowed into without much concern. He'd never just bulldozer over someone like his dearest gold sister, but still.

Now standing between two candidates in the first row, once again, Xanthoth lifted himself up, then rocked back to sort of sit.

Hm hm hm!

"Huh. There are alot of browns this hatching. Usually, from what i've heard, greens and blues are most numerous, with browns then bronzes and then the golds the rarest." It was unusual, but.... Hadn't he heard some people talking.... "I think I remember someone saying that the mating flight was a good one.... That could account for the large number of browns...." He flicked brief glances over at his friend, but overall he kept his attention on the brown and the rocking egg."

"Well, thanks. And yeah, we shouldn't worry about why, and just be glad they all seem to be hatching out healthy." He hoped his friend impressed as well. It was nice that M'rik had done so already. How much better would it be if all them them managed to do so? Though he honestly didn't hold out high hopes for that happening. Seeing as how rare it was for groups of people who knew each other to all impress at the same hatching.